Alice and The Joker
by Astronomixicalixa
Summary: Title says it all. Batman/Alice in W/L fanfic. My first story, please read! I know that this summary is poor, but I've always been rubbish at them. And I love reviews- hint . Also tell me how I can improve, as it will help in the future... thank you! XD.
1. The Game

It had been several months since Alice had last been to Wonderland. Already having visited the country twice, Alice felt that both times she had had quite a lucky escape. Whether she had been pursued by raving queens, or had been having arguments with a various assortment of creatures, Alice felt that her new detachment from the place was for the best.

But as we all know, just because someone doesn't want something to happen, doesn't mean it won't. Alice always had a habit of retreating into the depths of her imagination when she was bored- and at the moment, life was being particularly monotonous. For her eighth birthday, Alice had been told that she couldn't have a party, due to the fact that her father was away on business. As anybody knows, such news is crushing to a small child- especially a spoiled brat that usually gets everything she wants.

The result of this news was inevitable: Alice would have to run away. "Not give me a party!" She said to herself indignantly more than once. "Why, every other girl I know has a party for her eighth birthday! Milly even had a magician, and someone to recite poetry! I can't imagine why my mother is being quite so selfish." As you can see, as well as being spoiled, Alice was also opinionated. Though this could have been seen as precocious, most viewed it as very irritating. Alice being Alice, however, decided that being irritating was better than nothing. Which I suppose, is true, to an extent.

"Mother!" Alice called, as she collected her things, "I'm going now!"

Alice's mother stepped out of the kitchen. Remarkably patient for a woman with a child, she was from whom Alice's rather curious character had been inherited.

"Where are you going, dear?" Mrs Liddell looked at Alice with a mixture of pity and amusement. How she would love to give her youngest some birthday fun- but with her husband away, she just couldn't afford it. She looked at Alice's rippling golden hair and sighed. It was getting far too long. But it was so pretty! Like a sheet of gold- although to Mrs Liddell far more precious. She wouldn't swap Alice for any amount of cold metal under the sun.

"Away." Alice pursed her lips petulantly. Ah, so she was running away then. Without meaning to, Mrs Liddell gave a smile of unadulterated laughter. How like Alice to run away when she couldn't have what she wanted! But she would be back before it was time for tea. She always was. On a sudden impulse Mrs Liddell wrapped her arms around her small daughter's delicate frame.

"If that is what you wish Alice. Be safe."

Alice wriggled free, her green satin dress fluttering prettily like a sulky butterfly. (Another year older I felt deserved a new colour scheme) "I'll be fine. Look after Dinah. Don't forget to feed her. I will know if you haven't!"

Again Mrs Liddell gave a beam of pure indulgence. "I won't forget."

And Alice went.

Several minutes later, hot and tired, Alice sat under her favourite tree. "I wonder why trees grow like that," she said to herself, looking up at it's branches. "With all it's leaves and blossoms. It can't just be for beauty- it must serve some sort of _purpose_." Then, "Oh how I remember sitting in that tree! Dinah keeping me company, my sister reading that ridiculous book with no pictures… for what is the use of a book without pictures or conversation?" As Alice was musing this, she heard a twig snap and some very audible rustling.

In a trice, she had leapt to her feet. "Who's there?" She called, looking wildly around. "Please tell me!"

"Ha ha ho ho heh heh heh heh." A sinister laugh rang through the deserted field. Alice struggled to hold back tears. She hated being frightened- and she felt she had been frightened far too much recently.

"Who's there?" She repeated, her voice higher and trembling on the point of breakdown.

The sound of a branch breaking filled the air. Suddenly, something large and purple fell through the sky and landed in front of Alice, as gracefully as a cat. Startled, she reared back, her vision obscured by fright.

The purple blur eventually sharpened, and Alice could see that the intruder was a man. Wasn't it? For a nightmare vision of a white death mask, slashed mouth painted scarlet and black eyes that oozed threat wasn't what Alice usually classified as a man. Desperately trying to stifle a gasp, Alice backed against the tree, her eyes wide and too alarmed even to cry.

"Hey little lady," the lurid clown (for that's what Alice finally decided he looked like) gave a demonic grin. "Why so serious?"

Alice heard someone issue a terrified moan, then realised that it came from herself. "Leave-leave-leave me alone!" She tried to run, but her feet were frozen to the spot. Her eyes were fixed to the clown's and they were pulling her in, trying to fill her with some of the evil that they possessed. Although mesmerised, Alice used all her strength to pull her gaze away.

The clown looked Alice up and down, nodding approvingly. "She's beautiful. For a child." He stepped towards Alice and a gloved hand cupped her face. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

Alice forced herself not to tell her name to this compelling stranger. Instead she shook her head violently, and looked at the ground. She didn't trust herself not to speak.

The stranger smiled. "I see. You need…" He gave a low chuckle, "… a little encouragement." So fast that Alice felt a breeze on her cheek, the clown drew a knife from his pocket. "Does this help?"

Too young to realise that this was not a good idea, Alice screamed. Like lightening, she felt purple leather fly across her mouth. "Not playing my little game?" The Clown drew his face close to hers and he licked his lips. "You'll have to play if you want to live."

Her mouth covered so she could make no sound, Alice once more shook her head. Like pass the parcel (it was for babies!) this was a game she would certainly not be playing.

The Clown shrugged. "Fine." With a violent gesture, he thrust the knife into the child's stomach. Despite not being able to be heard, Alice did scream- again and again. She waited for the pain, the sticky wet flow of blood… but there was nothing.

"I hate it when that happens." The Clown was looking at the knife- a retractable blade used in theatre performances. He glanced at Alice. "I can't get it right all the time."

Whilst he was rummaging in his pockets, Alice found herself staring at this nightmare. His eyes intrigued her the most. So dark, so evil, so… she couldn't describe it. All she knew was that she was feeling something she hadn't before- and it wasn't exactly pleasant. It made her feel light headed, rash. She opened her mouth to speak. "I'll tell you my name if you tell me yours." Her voice was girlish, different. A tone she wasn't familiar with.

The Clown looked up in surprise. "Playing now are we darlin'? No harm in telling I suppose. It could make things more fun." A leer flickered across his face. "The Joker. At your service." He gave a bow. "And yours?"

"Alice." She was too transfixed to make up a false name. A shiver rose through her chest, and she began to tremble.

"Alice. A- Liss. The little girl that went A- Miss." The Joker 'sang' in his deep, teasing voice. Again he licked his lips. "That was only the first part of all the fun. So Miss Alice, time for the real game."

"What?" Alice knew she sounded too eager, but she didn't know why. Was it down to the lack of excitement in her life… or something else?

Before she could step forward, she felt a hand grab her face. The Joker was right up close, a look of pure insanity plastered over his features. "You don't seem too nervous sweetie," he breathed, "We'll have to change that. Do you wanna know how I got these scars?"

Terror had made Alice paralysed. Despite the earlier knife trick, she knew this time she wouldn't be so lucky. The suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar white rabbit run past. The Joker sensed her distraction.

With the air of a circus professional, the Joker flicked his knife so it embedded itself in the rabbit's white fur. A high-pitched squeal entangled with the noise of the growing wind.

"No!" Alice cried out. She tried to run towards the White Rabbit, but the Joker held her back, chuckling gleefully.

"I've always had such a good shot. I never seem to miss. Better than a gun. Much, much better than a gun!" His voice rose in obvious pleasure. Then he turned back to Alice.

"Come on Sweetcakes, don't wanna miss it." He grabbed Alice around the waist, and held her in front of him so she couldn't struggle. She didn't even try. His arms were burning into her stomach.

Not even staggering under her weight, the Joker dragged Alice towards the rabbit hole that Alice had been down about a year before. He placed her by it, and made no attempt to throw her in.

"Jump."

"No."

"Do I have to do everything myself?" With a strange panache, the Joker pulled out a gun and pointed it between Alice's staring eyes. "Jump or I shoot." Alice jumped.

As the familiar fall began, Alice peered up at the ever-growing smaller circle of light. The Joker grinned right back down at her.

"Goodbye Miss Alice!" He called, a strange playfulness on each word. "I hope you don't die on the way down. It'll be a lot less fun if you do!"

He had the game all planned out. Kill Alice. A-Liss, A-Liss the little girl that will go A-Miss. He just had to send her mad first.

And what better place to do that than Wonderland?

**NB: A very long first chapter. But the other chapters will be shorter if I carry it on, I promise. And hopefully, this was worth the read anyway. **

**I don't own anything to do with Alice in Wonderland, or the Dark Knight. If I did I would be very, very rich. Ah well. A girl can dream…**


	2. The beginning

**NB: This chapter won't be too long. I promise XD. **

Down…

Down…

Down…

Alice vaguely remembered that she had thought this before. A time when circumstances had been different- brighter, a time of innocence. But this was far from childish dreams. Alice thought of the Joker and shivered. Those scars! That suit! Those eyes… another involuntary tremble shot through her chest. This was bad- no worse, much worse.

"If only I had stayed at home!" Alice began to sob. "If only I hadn't been such a sulky, awful child!" Before she fully realised what she was doing, Alice was screaming. "Help me! Somebody help me-please!"

A white- and horrifyingly familiar- face appeared beside her own. No body was present- it looked like a clever projection. But this was anything but fake. The Joker gave a grin. "Now Miss Alice, none of that." He glared at her, reprovingly. "Don't ruin it- you were being so much fun!" A hellish chuckle rumbled around the dark hole. "And why? We don't want things to end _early." _A dagger flashed through the air. Alice cried out and shut her eyes, waiting for the end.

Seconds passed.

Shaking, she finally felt brave enough to look around. The face had vanished- and when she looked up she could see the knife embedded in the wall. Another lucky escape. A jar of marmalade floated past her right ear, but this time she barely noticed it. Her thoughts were elsewhere. The Joker.

She had never seen someone like him before. Why, she had never even _heard_ of someone like him before. Alice wasn't stupid. She knew that people were killed all the time. People died- a fact of life. Her grandmother had died not too long ago. But a serial killer? A- she could hardly think of the right word- a psychopath? This was such an unfamiliar concept to Alice, that she wasn't sure if she really _wasn't _dreaming. A sudden desperate urge overwhelmed her. She began to slap and pinch herself, a frantic attempt to escape this horror. "Wake up Alice! Please wake up!"

Down…

Down…

Down…

She swore that last time hadn't taken this long. She must be coming towards the end. Please let that be, please. Alice couldn't think of a time that she had felt so desolate. Whatever the Joker's plans were, she already knew what the end would be- her death- and this time, no escape. Half of her wished that there would be no soft leaves at the bottom to cushion her fall- surely high impact would be preferable to the searing agony of a blade.

Thump

There was a soft flurry as the dead foliage enveloped her. Struggling slightly, Alice got to her feet. Which way? If only Mr Rabbit was here to guide her…

"This way Sweetcakes." Mocking, the Joker's voice again materialized, echoing across the long corridor. Feeling like a dog forced into obedience, Alice followed the voice, and sure enough, soon came into the Room of Doors. Alice immediately spotted the smallest one, hidden by a red curtain.

Automatically, she drew the curtain back, although she had not yet found the tiny golden key. A piece of paper was revealed- it's pearly whiteness shining in the near dark.

_Through this one beautiful. _

The writer of this note, written in a crazed scrawl, was obvious. Alice ripped it from the wood and read it again. How had he got down here before her?

_Through this one beautiful. _

What was that? Surely not…

At the bottom of the note was a single, crimson X- the coppery smell of freshly spilt blood filling the musty atmosphere.

Alice spun around. A dead mouse, it's head several inches away from it's body, lay on the floor.

"Oh Mouse!"

It's leaking blood was smeared- as if somebody had dragged their fingers through. The golden child gave a soft moan. This visit to her curious world was to be exactly the same as before- but this time every character would be mutilated before she got to them. He was playing with them, he was playing with _her. _

The Joker's sick game of Wonderland had truly begun.


	3. Drink Me

Struggling not to cry out, Alice scrabbled at the small wooden door. She _had_ to fit through. Oh please, Lord, let the door open. Her mind awash with fears, she twisted the doorknob again and again- her face screwed up in a mask of panic.

The coppery smell from the dead mouse was really getting too much for her. She couldn't bear to look at it- yet the glassy eyes seemed to be imprinted on her mind. The door wasn't opening. Of course, she needed the key. But where was it?

"Please God, open the door!" Alice's shrill voice rang through the silence, and echoed back at her- mocking, a cruel imitation of her distress. "Please!" Hopelessly, she banged and hammered, her fists beginning to bruise and bleed.

(_i'm going to die but oh Lord i'm only eight and i'm scared now i'm really scared please let the door open i need it to open now though i can't fit through but i need to try really try.)_

A soft shuffle halted the demolition of her small hands. Alice froze. Nothing was down here with her… it wasn't possible. Was it? She didn't dare turn around. Something within her was screaming to keep up with this game, to play along nicely and remain the naïve child she always had been.

But she had already seen too much. Over the last hour or so, her eyes had developed from seeing the world as an innocent youth, to the much more mature sightings of an adult. In the past hour, Alice had doubled her age.

"_Aliceee…" _A voice barely above a whisper whistled straight into the girl's ear. "_Turn around Aliceee…"_

"No." Her hand was the consistency of ice, and was clasped on the door handle. "Never."

"_Turn around Alice." _The unknown command had lost it's dreamlike, lilting quality. Instead the voice was much harder, colder, forbidding. "_Turn around… if you know what's best for you."_

"NO!" In a sudden burst of terror, Alice wrenched at the door handle with all her strength- with fruitless effect.

_(i'm really scared now and i don't know what to do and oh what have i done what have i done to deserve this i'm so frightened and this is getting scarier it's not just the joker anymore it's… it's something else.)_

"_TURN AROUND ALICE!" _It was no longer a whisper, but a roar- it filled Alice's ears and made her shake, her eyes were momentarily blinded by the extent of the noise- for one moment she was sure she was going to faint.

A huge shadow suddenly rose out of the dim light- much bigger than Alice, much bigger than anything she had seen before. This time she _did_ whirl around, her heart in her mouth, her nails making bloody crescent moons into the palms of her hands.

_(what is it please don't let it hurt me oh please)_

Nothing. The mouse was still on the floor, the sticky crimson puddle congealing and getting darker in colour.

"Tricked you!" The gleeful voice of the Joker filled the small room of doors, his tones high with delight of his foolery. "You shouldn't be so gullible A-Liss. Or curious. Curiosity _killed _the cat." A manic scream of laughter rent the air, making Alice's hands fly up to her ears in order to protect them. "_Killed _the cat! Oh I'm a genius, that I am."

_(his laughter is even more disturbing than his eyes)_

"We must carry on with the game A-Liss. Otherwise what will become of Mr Joker? Or worse, what will become of _you?_" With that threat left hanging in the air, the Joker's voice was suddenly cut off and the silence rushed back to fill the space.

"Oh Alice," The girl curled into a ball, hugging her knees. "What are you going to do?" This was her way of coping- referring to herself in third person. She knew that if she said "what am I going to do?" that meant she could no longer detach herself from the situation, and had to admit that she was in big trouble. The first tears of pity began to slide down her face, marking the green satin of her dress.

As the tears grew faster and thicker, Alice buried her face in her hands to stop the flow. As far as she could see, she was stuck. No key to open the door, nothing to make her smaller… it seemed like the Joker hadn't completely planned the game. He had enough to keep her frightened, on her toes; trusting that her childish fears would stop her from forming a plan of escape. If he warped her mind enough, twisted her thoughts even so _she_ couldn't recognise them… then she would be his. A pawn in his sick game of chess. But the last chess game Alice had played she had become a queen. _She had become a queen._ Surely she could outwit him, find a way to get out…

"Look." As if invisible hands were forcing her, Alice's head craned upwards, her neck muscles screaming under the pressure. On the glass table stood a small bottle, filled with a glowing green liquid. It was bubbling- as if it was on a source of extreme heat, made to damage, to kill. The label around the neck was scrawled in more of the mouse's blood. 'Drink me.'

Alice let out a bark of a laugh- the first for what felt like years.

_(do I really look that stupid do I look that naive I know his plans but oh god I must obey if he tells me poison isn't as bad as anything else)_

The hands released her neck, and the suddenness of this made her head snap forward painfully. As if in a dream, she got to her feet and reached for the bottle.

_(don't want to do this don't have to do this so sit down alice sit down refuse to move and wait for this crazy adventure to end)_

Her hand reached for the

_(poison)_

bottle, and as if the instructions were being spoken out loud, she began to open it. A thin hiss came out of the top, suggesting there had been built up gas inside.

_(don't drink it!)_

She raised the bottle to her lips, and could feel the scorching heat blistering her lips, making the soft pink skin peel easily, leaving scars beaded with blood.

_(it hurts so much so dangerous just stop it STOP IT NOW)_

Violently, she flung the liquid down her throat. The Joker shrieked with ecstasy, the wild screams reverberating and echoing, sounding like a thousand Jokers laughing at once.

She couldn't breath. Her stomach was suddenly filled with violent cramps, and she couldn't even screech in pain. Trying to gasp she clutched the table to stop her fall. Her head was spinning, her limbs were weak, so weak… she was slipping and tried to grab the table again, but missed- her nails clawing four scarlet tracks in her face.

_(somebody help me somebody-)_

The little crystal bottle smashed as she hit the floor.


End file.
